Reddit Updates Ad Policy To Allow Users To Opt Out Of Political Ads

On August 1st, Reddit announced an update to its advertising policy. This change allows users to opt out of seeing political ads as the US presidential race heats up. The update is part of Reddit’s broader effort to maintain the integrity of its platform and support its moderators and communities.

Reddit has introduced a new category in its “Sensitive Advertising Categories.” This category now includes political and activism-related ads. Users have the option to choose not to view these types of ads.

In the announcement, Reddit stated that their primary concerns include inauthentic content, such as disinformation and bots, as well as moderating hateful content. To achieve this, Reddit claims to use AI and ML tools to flag potentially harmful, spammy, or inauthentic content, often allowing for its removal before it reaches users.

Additionally, Reddit states that it is developing new tools to detect AI-generated media, including political content like images of politicians and candidates. By improving their ability to identify such content, Reddit hopes to better assess and address potential threats on the platform.

However, Reddit recognizes that the unpredictable US election cycle may drive harmful content.  To address this, the platform is training its safety teams on various scenarios, including content manipulation and hateful content, with a focus on political violence, race, and gender-based hate.

Furthermore, Reddit provides moderators with support and tools to maintain safe and on-topic communities. This includes sharing essential resources and proactively reaching out to communities that are likely to experience increased traffic. Moderators can also utilize Reddit’s suite of tools to filter out abusive and spammy content, such as the Harassment Filter, released this year.

Reddit is also testing new ways for moderators to escalate election-related concerns, such as a dedicated tip line (currently in beta testing) and a new report flow for spammy, bot-related links.

Lastly, Reddit also received feedback from moderators requesting a post-election report detailing platform performance and key takeaways. Reddit plans to release such a report following the US election, similar to the one issued after the 2020 election. This report is expected in Q1 2025.